


For the First Time

by Cupped_Socks



Series: Pheromone Spell [12]
Category: Original Work
Genre: A!Zach, A/B/O, ABO, ABO dynamics, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute Ending, Cute Kids, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Verse, Omegaverse, Other, Parenthood, o!Milo, o!Morgan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupped_Socks/pseuds/Cupped_Socks
Summary: Zachary receives a call from Milo's school requesting that he come pick the boy up. When he gets there, it's clear that his son's started going into heat. Milo struggles to handle himself, and Zach's lack of expertise certainly doesn't help, but his insistence eventually pays off.
Relationships: Zachary Schoenfeld/Morgan Fairrow
Series: Pheromone Spell [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1305617
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	For the First Time

"It happens, sometimes," the nurse had said in the most demure tone she could've possibly managed. "But Milo's been very good about it so far. He's a strong boy."

When the school had called him to pick up the boy, Zachary hadn't expected it any more than the boy had. The sight of the boy with his cheeks impossibly flushed, his eyelids looking so heavy despite how well he usually slept, and a too-large pair of pants that were not his had truly caught the alpha off guard. Had Milo not been present, he didn't know if he'd handled the situation as well as he had himself.

Zach was seething in the car ride home. The boy insisted to sit in the back with Nesrine, as far away from him, and he clung to his soiled pants. When he looked into the rearview mirror, his boy looked so pathetically ashamed and angry. He felt his heart pinch.

"So, you're a big boy now, huh, buddy?" He regretted the words almost as soon as they left his mouth. His boy shrunk in the back seat, his eyes dropping so very low and his brows gravely furrowed. That was certainly the wrong thing to say. But he couldn't seem to help himself. 

"It's fine, Milo. It was bound to happen sometime soon. It's just your first heat, buddy. You'll have plenty more and you'll get used to it." God, how he wished he could take those words back instantly. Milo glared at him now before averting his eyes.

"I don't need you to tell me all that," he grumbled, "I already know..."

"Yeah... You're right, buddy."

The car ride was quiet from there on, save for the girl who demanded the radio to be turned up whenever a song she liked came on. Even once they arrived home and Zach had thought he would open the door for the boy, he found that Milo had already gone inside, leaving the other two behind. He went straight to his room, refusing to step out even when he called him down for dinner. After a short discussion, it was decided that Morgan would do well to go check on the boy, but even after his husband returned, Milo was no more talkative than he had been before.

" 'You're a big boy now'? " Morgan had teased him later that night when they were both prepared to go to bed.

"I didn't know what else to say, Morgan!"

"It's safe to say that 'you're a big boy now' wasn't the way to go."

"Yeah, well... Let's just say that this is a first for me."

"Zach..."

A silence had fallen over them where Morgan could see the hurt in the alpha. Zach was frustrated—and perhaps even a little bit remorseful—and his scent clearly held an edge to it. Even now, as he was simply folding the laundry, the alpha seemed distracted, to say the least. He ground his teeth together, and though he didn't struggle to fold each garment, they felt particularly heavy. When he finally came to Milo's previously soiled pants, he felt his arms were also heavy.  _ Too heavy. _

He would stop there for the night, before climbing into bed with the omega.

Sleep had barely found him that night. He'd been awake late into the night until their youngest-- Nesrine-- snuck out of her bed, as per usual, to sneak under their covers. Then once the sun rose, as tired as he was, he rose with it in order to prepare breakfast and see the kids off to school. That day, Milo would spend the day home, resting, and Morgan would go fetch them all after work.

"Why isn't Milo going to school too?" asked a very jealous Wesley as Zach prepared his book bag.

"Milo's not going to school because he's a little bit sick... Now take your bag. Head for the door."

"But I don't wanna go to school!"

"But you are, so head for the door, Wes."

The boy stomped off to regroup with his brothers who waited for Morgan to join them. The parent omega made a stop into the kitchen, however, to see if the alpha would perhaps like to exchange a few words.

"Are you going to be okay staying here with Milo all day?" Morgan asked, a hint of concern lacing his voice.

"I should be. It's not like he's going to make me run around if he spends the whole day in his room, you know?"

"I know... Make sure he eats, okay? He's probably starved right now, or at least very hungry."

"I got this," Zach placed a kiss upon his husband's forehead, "The kids are going to be late if you don't get going."

They shared a brief embrace. Zach's arms had probably held the omega far too tightly, this unease in his scent still edging him.

"You're a good alpha, Zach," the embrace encouraging Morgan to murmur the sweet praise. The whisper effectively did calm him, his shoulders softening just as his scent did. The omega tilted his head back, nuzzling under the alpha's chin, and lightly nipped at the skin, before working himself loose of Zach's grasp with a devilish grin.

With Morgan now gone with the kids, Zach was left alone in the kitchen, Nesrine still in her booster seat as he ate.

That child had such an appetite, and unlike her brothers, she ate everything he put in front of her. Well, almost everything. She wasn't fond of mushrooms and refused to have anything to do with broccoli. Even when finely chopped, she seemed to have some sort of ability to identify the specific taste of broccoli among the amalgamation of flavours. If she could identify it, then she absolutely refused to eat. But here she was, happily helping herself to some of the pineapple and kiwi slices he had set out for breakfast.

He went to her, sitting in the chair beside her's, and placed a hand to the back of her head. She glanced his way for a fraction of a second but quickly reverted back to the fruits set out for her.

"Can I have some?" asked Zach, his hand on the table, palm open up towards the ceiling. Nesrine shook her head and pulled the plate away—although the alpha wouldn’t have trouble reaching for it still. 

"What?" he feigned his affront, tickling her ribs to elicit a giggle, "What do you mean you're not going to share with daddy? Do you want me to starve!?"

The girl laughed and squirmed until, finally, she handed him his very own slice of pineapple.

"For daddy," she claimed proudly as though she were doing him a great service.

"Ah," he said, "Thank God, I'm not going to die!"

His day went on as normally as it could have gone as Nesrine was particularly easy to look over compared to the quads at her age. She wasn't as prone to walking off or being as destructive as Wesley ever was. Her attention was easily captivated and as long as he kept her entertained, she wouldn't get into too much trouble. Her curiosity wouldn't take her nearly as far as her brothers' would.

The longer the day went on, however, the more anxious Zach became. He hadn't heard from Milo in the slightest. The boy never came down to eat. He only left his room to go to the bathroom, and even then, Zach suspected he ran back and forth. He tried to dismiss his worries and to focus, instead, on Nessie who requested his attention still. 

Eventually nap time came, and while his troubles were never lifted, he concentrated on the girl. He laid her down in his bed—he found she was less likely, as all the others, to fight him if she wasn't put down to sleep in her own bed—and once she successfully fell asleep, he left quickly, shutting the door behind him. He took this opportunity to go knocking on the boy's door, but there was no answer, and though he couldn't help but feel dejected, he moved away from the door and left his boy to his own things.

Zachary went down to the kitchen for the time being to do the dishes and then to get started on dinner. He heard the sounds of two doors opening and closing in swift succession coming from upstairs—the door to his bedroom, first, followed by that of Milo's bedroom. He already knew the culprit would be Nessie. 

"Nesrine's in his room," he thought out loud, "Damn it..." He threw the kitchen towel from his shoulder onto the kitchen island counter and set out to clear the contents on the space, putting away diced vegetables and broth and cubed meats, before washing his hands and climbing the stairs.

He gave a soft knock to the boy's door, but again, there was no answer. He thought, perhaps, to check his bedroom, that maybe his imagination had played tricks on him; After all, he was tired. When he went to check his room, though, he found his bed a mess, the sheets thrown carelessly about but no pup curled up among them.

He returned to the boy's room, but this time, he tentatively inched the door open after knocking.

"Milo? I'm coming in..."

"No!" The alpha froze in his steps. 

"Get out!"

"I'm just here to get Nessie."

"Get out, dad!"

He was tempted to comply, but he pressed on and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

"I said get out!!" The boy rose from his bed and growled at him.

"Hey! Settle down, I'm still your dad! If I wanna come in, I'll come in," he growled back.

Milo grumbled but surrendered, turning his back to the alpha and burying himself into his sheets all over again. Nessie sat on his bed, in the midst of the mess of blankets, gazing at the alpha with what was probably the most nonchalant of looks. Milo's television was turned on and a movie was playing. Zach supposed the boy had sought to entertain his little sister, and he did so very effectively. After acknowledging him, the girl went quietly went back to the television.

The room reeked of desperation and unease. The scent of sweat and shame clung to most everything and it was most prominent. Zach could feel a tingle of pity for his boy well within him. Heat cycles almost seemed normal for Morgan; the omega was certainly used to managing them. The alpha also never needed to worry about such a thing. He reacted as any alpha would in the presence of a mate in heat and there was no need for them to hold back or for them to worry about one another. The same could not be said about Milo, however. At thirteen, he still had quite a bit of suffering to go through, and for that, the alpha felt helpless to help his boy.

He went to the bed, to Nesrine, and he sat on the edge of it. The girl went to him, cuddled against his arm, and they lingered there for a minute. Milo didn't shift, didn't speak. Zach laid a hand heavily over the pile of blankets that covered the boy.

"It's gonna pass, Milo," he tried to sound confident, but his heart pinched when all he got as a reply was a stifled sob.

"Aw, Milo..."

He gathered the boy, blanket and all, over into his lap, his arms wrapped around the bundle tightly. He rocked the boy and worked the covers from around his face only for his heart to clench at the heart wrecking sight that was his boy as he cried. Milo tucked his chin in, covering his face as much as he could, and Zach let it go.

"Milo's sad?" Nessie asked, "Why?"

"He's not feeling good, and sometimes that really sucks."

"Milo's sick?"

"Yeah..."

"And it hurts?"

"A lot," the boy finally said, cutting him off, his voice soft and hitching.

"It hurts where? I'll make it better."

She climbed over the alpha, reaching for brother's face through the blankets.

"It hurts everywhere, Nessie," Milo explained, "You can't make it go away. It just hurts."

He gave her a gentle push, forcing her to climb back down to the bed rather than having her climb over him. He tilted his head further into the blanket that wrapped him.

"Milo doesn't want a kiss!" She looked to Zach, hurt reading all over her face, and he couldn't help but give a short laugh.

"Milo's not feeling well, Nessie." He put an arm around her, pulling the two of them into his lap, holding them one against the other. 

"Why don't you just give him a hug like this?" Zach suggested, and she immediately did, throwing herself over the pile that was Milo. Zach shuffled back on the bed with both pups in his arms until he could lay on his side, the two of them pressed tight against his chest.

"I want you to leave, dad..." the boy grumbled.

"Well, tough luck, buddy."

"No! Daddy stays!" Nessie intervened just in time.

Zach stayed like this for a bit, lying on his side with Milo and Nesrine in his arms. The added warmth of the alpha's body, along with the soft plush of Milo's comforter, made for the perfect nest. Milo, on the other hand, was quite restless. Though his discomfort had seemingly eased, he was shifting still, and groaning.

"Can you leave?" he asked, his voice small and tired.

"No," Zach answered simply, "I'm gonna stay here, with you, until you feel well enough to go downstairs and eat something."

"It's weird, dad..."

"What is?"

"This! I'm thirteen! Why are you laying in bed with me? It's weird."

"It's not..."

"Yes, it is!"

"Hey, Milo, you slept in the bed with your mom and me up until you were eleven..."

"And?"

"That was barely two years ago. I just want to help you feel better."

Milo fell quiet, defeated. He stilled within the bundle of blankets from which he was snuggled into. He scoffed and mumbled something under his breath, something the alpha decided to ignore. He couldn't deny that the alpha's body heat would ease him, though, and per his insistence, he surrendered to the man's will.

The mound of blankets shuffled about as Milo did, the folds coming undone until the boy could sit up in bed. He rearranged the blankets as Zach watched him. He made it so Nessie would be able to cradle herself between them, between Zach and Milo. Once the girl was settled, comfortably nestled, it was time for Milo to find himself a position that would suit him. He spooned the girl and the alpha wrapped a rather heavy arm over them. And before they knew it, the girl drifted off into sleep. While it took much longer for Milo to close his eyes and let his mind rest, he eventually succumbed at his turn and let himself drift. After the boy, it was the alpha's turn to be swept away into a deep slumber. So deep, in fact, that neither Milo nor Zach stirred when Nesrine finally woke up.

She'd been quiet and snuck out of the bed. When Morgan finally returned home that afternoon with the kids in toll, she was found alone in the downstairs living room with a block of cheese—with clear bite marks as though she had tried to eat it in chunks—and some soda crackers. She sat there, in front of the television, content and satisfied, much to Morgan's dismay. When he went looking for his husband, Zach was nowhere to be found-- Not in the basement, not in the toilet, not in the kitchen, not in their room... No, Zachary was absent while Nesrine played on her own downstairs.

The omega was ready for a fight, stomping his way up the stairs until he reached Milo's door. Without knocking, he opened the door wide and came into the room, seething and angry, only to be softened by the sight.

After Nesrine had left them to venture off into their home by herself, the two had shuffled in their sleep. Or perhaps it was only Milo who had scooted himself into the alpha's arms, the boy pressed tightly against his father who, in return, did hold him tight. The scent of desperation wasn't so heavy anymore, and though there was still something unpleasantly stifling that clung to the walls, the room was not so stressed. Morgan supposed their son hadn't slept all that well, and yet here he was happily snoozing away.

The omega went to the bed and, with a gentle hand, he lightly shook Zach's shoulder. It took him quite a bit of effort to get the man to stir, his eyes fluttering softly when he finally came to. Zachary's lips tugged into a soft smile when he saw his husband.

"Do you want me to prepare dinner?" Morgan asked in a hushed tone.

"No, no, I'm up. I'll be down soon," Zach responded in kind and shook his head.

The omega bent down to the sleeping boy and pressed a soft peck to his temple before doing the same for the alpha. When the other kids started pushing their way into the room, their curiosity gaining the better of them, Morgan left, ushering the boys out on his way. They would wait downstairs until dinner was ready. Eventually, Zach untangled himself from the cocoon of sheets and snuck out at his turn. He left Milo to sleep and went down to welcome the boys home and finish with the preparation for dinner. When the time came, the boys were called to their seats, and Nesrine was seated in her booster. Their plates were filled, their cups full of juice or milk, and the table was set. Zachary hung back in the kitchen, cleaning up and putting the last of dinner's ingredients away, as the whole of his family sat and ate. It was lively, their kids shouting and laughing until Morgan would shush them.

They all fell quiet, however, when the sound of a bedroom door, upstairs, opened and closed. Milo's footsteps were barely heard as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen. He still looked tired, his eyes heavily-lidded, his back hunched forward, and his hair a mess, but he didn't seem so distraught. He joined the alpha in the kitchen, moving in close until he could huddle up to his father.

"I'm hungry," he said in a whine.

"Yeah?" Zach wrapped the boy in a single-armed embrace, pulling Milo into his side, "You wanna go sit down? I'll get you a plate."

The boy nodded softly and took his seat at the table, alongside his brothers. His appetite was nearly cut in half, however, but neither Morgan nor Zach paid it any mind. He was free to eat as he wanted. When everyone was done, Milo retired to his room again where, with a full tummy, he could sleep a little while longer.

"You're a good alpha, Zach," Morgan had told Zachary that night, "Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Zach is such a good dad! So awkward, but so eager to help!


End file.
